'Hobbit' trilogy cash grab may gross out true fans

"Hobbit" trilogy cash grab may gross out true fans

By James Robinson, Hearst Newspapers

Published 2:10 pm, Wednesday, December 11, 2013

A scene from New Line CinemaÙs and MGM's fantasy adventure ?THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG,? a Warner Bros. Pictures release.
(Courtesy Of Warner Bros. Picture)

A scene from New Line CinemaÙs and MGM's fantasy adventure...

ORLANDO BLOOM as Legolas in New Line CinemaÙs and MGM's fantasy adventure ?THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG,? a Warner Bros. Pictures release.
(Courtesy Of Warner Bros. Picture)

ORLANDO BLOOM as Legolas in New Line CinemaÙs and MGM's...

RICHARD ARMITAGE as Thorin Oakenshield in New Line CinemaÙs and MGM's fantasy adventure ?THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG,? a Warner Bros. Pictures release.
(Courtesy Of Warner Bros. Picture)

RICHARD ARMITAGE as Thorin Oakenshield in New Line CinemaÙs...

MARTIN FREEMAN as the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins in New Line CinemaÙs and MGM's fantasy adventure ?THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG,? a Warner Bros. Pictures release.
(Courtesy Of Warner Bros. Picture)

MARTIN FREEMAN as the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins in New Line...

MARTIN FREEMAN as the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins in New Line CinemaÙs and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's fantasy adventure ?THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG,? a Warner Bros. Pictures release.
(Mark Pokorny)

MARTIN FREEMAN as the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins in New Line...

MARTIN FREEMAN as the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins in New Line CinemaÙs and MGM's fantasy adventure ?THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG,? a Warner Bros. Pictures release.
(Courtesy Of Warner Bros. Picture)

MARTIN FREEMAN as the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins in New Line...

IAN MCKELLEN as Gandalf in New Line CinemaÙs and MGM's fantasy adventure ?THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG,? a Warner Bros. Pictures release.
(Courtesy Of Warner Bros. Picture)

IAN MCKELLEN as Gandalf in New Line CinemaÙs and MGM's fantasy...

EVANGELINE LILLY as Tauriel in New Line CinemaÙs and MGM's fantasy adventure ?THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG,? a Warner Bros. Pictures release.
(Courtesy Of Warner Bros. Picture)

EVANGELINE LILLY as Tauriel in New Line CinemaÙs and MGM's...

EVANGELINE LILLY as Tauriel in New Line CinemaÙs and MGM's fantasy adventure ?THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG,? a Warner Bros. Pictures release.
(Courtesy Of Warner Bros. Picture)

EVANGELINE LILLY as Tauriel in New Line CinemaÙs and MGM's...

LUKE EVANS as Bard in New Line CinemaÙs and MGM's fantasy adventure ?THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG,? a Warner Bros. Pictures release.
(Courtesy Of Warner Bros. Picture)

LUKE EVANS as Bard in New Line CinemaÙs and MGM's fantasy...

MARTIN FREEMAN as Bilbo Baggins in New Line CinemaÙs and Metro-Goldwyn-MayerÙs fantasy adventure ?THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG,? a Warner Bros. Pictures release.
(Mark Pokorny)

MARTIN FREEMAN as Bilbo Baggins in New Line CinemaÙs and...

This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Martin Freeman, left, and John Callen in a scene from "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug." (AP Photo/Warner Bros. Pictures, Mark Pokorny) ORG XMIT: NYET607

Twelve dwarves and a hobbit on a quest; popular culture's favorite wizard; the dastardly dragon Smaug sitting in a mountain on a pile of gold.

"The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" — in theaters Friday — needs perhaps less introduction than any other movie in 2013.

But are audiences ready for another of Peter Jackson's no-expense-spared trips to Middle-earth?

Recent reports from "The Hobbit" set in New Zealand put the cost of the new trilogy currently at $561 million, on par with the gross domestic product of a small island nation. It's an exorbitant proposition made even more astounding by the first movie in the trilogy having already made that money back and then some, grossing more than $1 billion worldwide following its release last December.

The stakes for success for the second movie might have diminished. But by carving the 300 pages of source material from J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit" into what will end up as eight-plus hours of cinema, there seems to have been a sacrificing of goodwill for screen time.

From a record-tying 11 Academy Awards for "The Return of the King" in 2004, Tolkien's (and director Jackson's) stock in Hollywood has fallen.

"It's the illogical but inevitable conclusion of Hollywood's never-ending quest for more dollars at the expense of story and original artistic intent," Forbes' Brian Solomon wrote in July 2012, when Jackson announced his plan to stretch "The Hobbit" from two films to three.

It was a debate that could have been settled by a rapturous response to "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" last year.

Instead, critics were flummoxed. Few outright hated it, but the consensus was apathetic, with several pointed asides at the film's overtly stretched-out running time.

"The film milks every detail of the text, every hint of vacillation in the main character, to turn water flowing downstream into molasses walking uphill," The San Francisco Chronicle's Mick LaSalle wrote.

LaSalle's concerns were echoed nationwide and beyond. "Will test the stamina of the nonbelievers," wrote the Guardian. The Hollywood Reporter found it "a bit of a slog." The New York Times termed it an "overscale and plodding spectacle."

The prevailing question now becomes: What happens to a trilogy of movies, already more profitable than loved, locked in to bringing five more hours of cinema to a viewing public with little say in the matter?

The answer is, business as usual. The marketing wheels are turning. Denny's has fired up its "Hobbit"-themed menu for a second year running. Google has rolled out its Middle-earth-themed Chrome extension.

In its detailed projection for "The Hobbit," industry analysts at BoxOffice acknowledged that, without the nearly decadelong buildup to pull fans in this time, and with a subdued critical response, demand might be lower for "The Desolation of Smaug."

But only just. The film opens largely uncontested this week. It is family-friendly with broad age appeal and unparalleled name recognition. Weeks out from its release, it was already one of the most discussed films on Facebook and Twitter, according to BoxOffice.

And if that weren't enough to maintain a broad popular appeal, it has one of the oldest and most entrenched fan cultures on earth to fall back on. The first recorded Tolkien fan group, the Fellowship of the Ring, convened at the 1960 World Science Fiction Convention. The Tolkien Society of America has been in continuous operation for almost 50 years.

As Ryan Bean, a filmmaker and teacher in Los Angeles, as well as an avid, moviegoing Tolkien fan, remarked, of all the "Lord of the Rings" movies, "The Hobbit" was easily his least favorite. "Mostly down to the unnecessarily added in story lines and extreme story bloat," he said.

You can't keep these fans away.

"I expect 'The Hobbit' films to be a little frustrating," Bean added. "I'm still definitely going to see all of them."